Image capturing apparatus capable of specifying an object in image data based on object detection, motion detection and/or object recognition, communication apparatus communicating with image capturing apparatus, and control method therefor

ABSTRACT

An image capturing apparatus comprises a communication unit configured to communicate with an external apparatus, an image capturing unit configured to generate image data by capturing an object, a setting unit configured to set a shooting condition, a specifying unit configured to specify an object in image data captured by the image capturing unit, wherein the object specified by the specifying unit is used to set the shooting condition by the setting unit, and a control unit configured to control the specifying unit so as to specify the object with less processing when shooting upon receiving an instruction from the external apparatus connected via the communication unit based on the object specified by the specifying unit as compared to a case in which shooting is performed by directly operating the image capturing apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a technique of shooting by externallyoperating an image capturing apparatus.

Description of the Related Art

Recent digital cameras have functions of detecting the face and motionof a person and identifying a specific person. In various scenes,digital cameras can shoot suitable images upon automatically determiningoptimal shooting conditions. In addition, with the proliferation ofnetwork environments such as wireless LANs, digital cameras which areequipped with a wireless communication function to enable remoteshooting by externally operating a smartphone or the like as a remotecontroller which is communicatively connected via a wireless network,are available.

For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-050746 discloses atechnique of tracking a specific person by detecting a face and themotion of the face from continuously captured images. Japanese PatentLaid-Open No. 2007-325097 discloses a technique of performing remoteshooting by externally operating a digital camera using a wirelesslyconnected PC or the like.

In the automatic shooting mode in which a digital camera automaticallydetermines optimal shooting conditions, it is necessary to execute aface detection function, a motion detection function, and a personrecognition function. On the other hand, when performing remoteshooting, it is necessary to operate the wireless communication functionof the digital camera. However, operating these functions simultaneouslywill increase power consumption and computation processing load. Theincrease in power consumption may lead to a decrease in the number ofpossible shots. The increase in computation processing load may lead toa decrease in the display rate of live view images.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made in consideration of theaforementioned problems, and realizes a technique of suppressing anincrease in power consumption and an increase in computation processingload at the time of remote shooting.

In order to solve the aforementioned problems, the present inventionprovides an image capturing apparatus comprising: a communication unitconfigured to communicate with an external apparatus; an image capturingunit configured to generate image data by capturing an object; a settingunit configured to set a shooting condition; a specifying unitconfigured to specify an object in image data captured by the imagecapturing unit, wherein the object specified by the specifying unit isused to set the shooting condition by the setting unit; and a controlunit configured to control the specifying unit so as to specify theobject with less processing when shooting upon receiving an instructionfrom the external apparatus connected via the communication unit basedon the object specified by the specifying unit as compared to a case inwhich shooting is performed by directly operating the image capturingapparatus.

In order to solve the aforementioned problems, the present inventionprovides a communication apparatus comprising: a communication unitconfigured to communicate with an image capturing apparatus; a receptionunit configured to receive image data captured by the image capturingapparatus; a display unit configured to display image data received fromthe image capturing apparatus; a designation unit configured todesignate an object from an image displayed on the display unit; and atransmission unit configured to transmit information of an objectdesignated by the designation unit to the image capturing apparatus.

In order to solve the aforementioned problems, the present inventionprovides a method of controlling an image capturing apparatus whichcommunicates with an external apparatus, the method comprising steps of:connecting to the external apparatus; generating image data by capturingan object; setting a shooting condition; specifying an object in thecaptured image data, wherein the specified object is used to set theshooting condition; and performing controlling so as to specify theobject with less processing when shooting upon receiving an instructionfrom the external apparatus connected via a communication unit based onthe specified object as compared to a case in which shooting isperformed by directly operating the image capturing apparatus.

In order to solve the aforementioned problems, the present inventionprovides a method of controlling a communication apparatus whichcommunicates with an image capturing apparatus, the method comprisingsteps of: receiving image data captured by the image capturingapparatus; displaying image data received from the image capturingapparatus; designating an object from an image displayed on the displayunit; and transmitting information of a designated object to the imagecapturing apparatus.

According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress anincrease in power consumption and an increase in computation processingload at the time of remote shooting.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments (with reference to theattached drawings).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A and 1B are views for explaining a normal shooting mode and aremote shooting mode according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an imagecapturing apparatus according to this embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a communicationapparatus according to this embodiment;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are flowcharts showing a normal shooting operationaccording to this embodiment;

FIGS. 5A to 5C are views each exemplarily showing the display screen ofthe image capturing apparatus according to this embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a remote shooting operation according tothe first embodiment;

FIGS. 7A to 7C are views each exemplarily showing the display screen ofthe communication apparatus in the remote shooting mode according to thefirst embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a remote shooting operation according tothe second embodiment; and

FIGS. 9A and 9B are views each exemplarily showing the display screen ofa communication apparatus in the remote shooting mode according to thesecond embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below.The following embodiments are merely examples for practicing the presentinvention. The embodiments should be properly modified or changeddepending on various conditions and the structure of an apparatus towhich the present invention is applied. The present invention should notbe limited to the following embodiments. Also, parts of the embodimentsto be described later may be properly combined.

[First Embodiment]

The following will describe a system which uses a digital camera and asmartphone as an image capturing apparatus and a communicationapparatus, respectively, according to the present invention, andperforms remote shooting by externally operating the image capturingapparatus using the communication apparatus. Note that although asmartphone as a kind of a cellular phone is assumed as a communicationapparatus in this embodiment, the embodiment can also be applied toportable electronic devices such as other types of camera-equippedcellular phones and tablet terminals. Furthermore, the embodiment can beapplied to information processing apparatuses such as camera-equippedpersonal computers.

<Explanation of Shooting Modes>

The normal shooting mode and the remote shooting mode according to thisembodiment will be described first with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B.

FIG. 1A shows a case in the normal shooting mode. FIG. 1B shows a casein the remote shooting mode.

In the normal shooting mode, as shown in FIG. 1A, a photographer 101 andan object 102 are different persons, and the photographer 101 shoots theobject 102 by directly operating a digital camera 200.

In contrast to this, in the remote shooting mode, as shown in FIG. 1B,the photographer 101 and the object 102 are the same person, and thephotographer 101 shoots by remotely operating the digital camera 200using a smartphone 300 owned by the photographer 101.

As described above, in the remote shooting mode, the photographer 101wirelessly connects the smartphone 300 to the digital camera 200, andexternally operates the digital camera 200 using the smartphone 300.When shooting the object 102, the photographer 101 adjusts the fieldangle of the digital camera 200 so as to place himself/herself within aframe while looking at the display screen of the smartphone 300, andtransmits a shooting instruction to the digital camera 200, therebyshooting himself/herself.

<Configuration of Image Capturing Apparatus>

The configuration and functions of the image capturing apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present invention will be describedbelow with reference to FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 2, a control unit 201 is an arithmetic processing unit(CPU) which comprehensively controls the overall digital camera 200, andimplements various types of processes in flowcharts (to be describedlater) by executing programs stored in a nonvolatile memory 204 (to bedescribed later). Note that a plurality of pieces of hardware maycontrol the overall apparatus by sharing processes instead of making thecontrol unit 201 control the overall apparatus.

An image capturing unit 202 includes a lens group including a zoom lensand a focus lens and a shutter having a stop function. The imagecapturing unit 202 also includes an image sensor formed from a CCD, CMOSdevice, or the like which converts an object image into an electricalsignal, and an A/D converter which converts the analog image signaloutput from the image sensor into a digital signal.

An image processing unit 203 performs image adjustment processing ofadjusting white balance, color, brightness, and the like with respect tothe image data captured by the image capturing unit 202, and alsoperforms, for example, resize processing to a display size. The imageprocessing unit 203 also generates an image file by compressing andcoding the image data having undergone image adjustment processing byJPEG or the like, and records the file in a recording medium 210. Theimage processing unit 203 also performs predetermined arithmeticprocessing by using captured image data. The control unit 201 thencontrols the focus lens, stop, and shutter of the image capturing unit202 based on the obtained arithmetic result, thereby performing AF (AutoFocus) processing and AE (Auto Exposure) processing. The imageprocessing unit 203 also detects edge components from image data byusing bandpass filters in the horizontal and vertical directions, andperforms pattern matching with respect to the detected edge componentsto extract eye, nose, mouth, and ear candidates, thereby detecting theface of the object. The image processing unit 203 then records thefeature information and the like of the detected face in the recordingmedium 210. In addition, the image processing unit 203 has a function ofdetecting the motion of an object by extracting a motion vector from thedifference between continuously captured image data and a function ofrecognizing a person corresponding to a detected face by referring to adatabase in which pieces of feature information of faces are registered.Note that these functions may be executed based on predeterminedprograms, or circuits for implementing the respective functions may beincorporated in the image processing unit 203. In either case, the imageprocessing unit 203 operates as a way to perform the respective imageprocesses under the control of the control unit 201.

The nonvolatile memory 204 is an electrically erasable/recordablememory, and, for example, an EEPROM is used. Constants, programs, andthe like for the operation of the control unit 201 are recorded in thenonvolatile memory 204. In this case, the programs are those forexecuting the respective flowcharts to be described later in thisembodiment.

A work memory 205 is used as a work area where constants and variablesfor the operation of the control unit 201, programs read out from thenonvolatile memory 204, and the like are loaded. The work memory 205 isalso used as a buffer memory for temporarily holding the image datacaptured by the image capturing unit 202 or an image display memory fora display unit 207.

An operation unit 206 is constituted by operation members such asvarious types of switches and buttons and a touch panel which receivevarious types of operations from the user, including, for example, apower switch, a shutter switch, and a mode switch. The mode switch isformed from a rotating dial switch (a mode dial 501 in FIG. 5A), andswitches the operation mode of the control unit 201 to a still imagerecording mode, a moving image recording mode, a playback mode, and thelike. The still image recording mode includes modes such as an autoshooting mode, an auto scene discrimination mode, a manual mode (M), aprogram AE mode (P), a custom mode, and a remote shooting mode. Theshutter switch is turned on to generate a first shutter switch signalSW1 when the shutter button provided on the digital camera 200 isoperated halfway, that is, half-pressed (shooting preparationinstruction). Upon receiving the first shutter switch signal SW1, thecontrol unit 201 controls the image capturing unit 202 to start anoperation such as AF (Auto Focus) processing, AE (Auto Exposure)processing, AWB (Auto White Balance) processing, or EF (ElectronicFlash) processing. In addition, the shutter switch is turned on togenerate a second shutter switch signal SW2 when the shutter button isoperated completely, that is, full-pressed (shooting instruction). Uponreceiving the second shutter switch signal SW2, the control unit 201starts a series of shooting operations from reading out a signal fromthe image capturing unit 202 to writing image data in the recordingmedium 210.

The display unit 207 displays a viewfinder image at the time ofshooting, a captured image, and characters for a dialogical operation.The display unit 207 is, for example, a display device such as a liquidcrystal display or organic EL display. The display unit 207 may beintegrally formed with the digital camera 200 or an external apparatusconnected to the digital camera 200.

The image processing unit 203 records a coded image file in therecording medium 210. The control unit 201 reads out an already recordedimage file from the recording medium 210. The recording medium 210 maybe a memory card, hard disk drive, or the like mounted in the digitalcamera 200, or a flash memory or hard disk drive built in the digitalcamera 200.

A connection unit 211 is an interface for connection to an externalapparatus such as the smartphone 300. The digital camera 200 accordingto this embodiment can exchange data with an external apparatus via theconnection unit 211. Note that in this embodiment, the connection unit211 includes an interface for communication with an external apparatusvia a wireless LAN. The control unit 201 implements wirelesscommunication with an external apparatus by controlling the connectionunit 211. Note that a communication scheme to be used is not limited toa wireless LAN. For example, USB (Universal Serial Bus) or Bluetooth®can be used. Although it is possible to use short-range communicationwith a communication distance of about 10 cm, such as NFC (Near FieldCommunication), it is preferable to use a communication method having acertain communication distance (several m or more) in order to enjoy themerit of remote shooting.

Note that the digital camera 200 according to this embodiment canoperate as a slave apparatus in the infrastructure mode of a wirelessLAN. When the digital camera 200 operates as a slave apparatus, it canparticipate in a network formed by a neighboring AP (Access Point) byconnecting to the AP. In addition, although the digital camera 200according to this embodiment is a kind of AP, it can also operate as asimple AP whose function is further limited (to be referred to as asimple AP hereinafter). Note that that the AP in the embodiment is akind of relay device. When the digital camera 200 operates as a simpleAP, the digital camera 200 forms a network by itself. A peripheralapparatus of the digital camera 200 recognizes the digital camera 200 asan AP and can participate in the network formed by the digital camera200. Assume that the nonvolatile memory 204 holds a program for causingthe digital camera 200 to operate in the above manner.

Although the digital camera 200 in this embodiment is a kind of AP, itis a simple AP having no gateway function of transferring the datareceived from a slave apparatus to an Internet provider or the like.Even if, therefore, the digital camera 200 receives data from anotherapparatus participating in the network formed by itself, it cannottransfer the data to a network such as the Internet.

<Configuration of Communication Apparatus>

The configuration and functions of the smartphone 300 according to anembodiment to which the communication apparatus according to the presentinvention is applied will be described with reference to FIG. 3.Although a smartphone will be described as an example of thecommunication apparatus according to the present invention, the presentinvention is not limited to this. The present invention can be appliedto, for example, a cellular phone, a digital camera with a wirelessfunction, a portable media player, and an information processingapparatus such as a tablet device or PC (Personal Computer).

The smartphone 300 according to this embodiment includes a control unit301, an image capturing unit 302, a nonvolatile memory 303, a workmemory 304, an operation unit 305, a display unit 306, a recordingmedium 310, and a connection unit 311. The basic functions of therespective elements are the same as those of the digital camera 200, andhence a detailed description of them will be omitted. If a communicationapparatus is a PC, it need not include any display unit as long as itincludes a display control function which controls the display of thedisplay unit.

Assume that a program for communication with the digital camera 200 isheld in the nonvolatile memory 303 and is installed as a cameraapplication. Note that processing in the smartphone 300 according tothis embodiment is implemented by reading a program provided by thecamera application. Assume that the camera application has a program forthe use of the basic function of the OS installed in the smartphone 300.Note that the OS of the smartphone 300 may have a program forimplementing processing in this embodiment.

A public network connection unit 312 is an interface used for publicwireless communication. The smartphone 300 can communicate with anotherdevice via the public network connection unit 312 to perform datacommunication. When performing voice communication, the control unit 301inputs and outputs voice signals via a microphone 313 and a loudspeaker314. Assume that in this embodiment, the public network connection unit312 includes an interface for performing communication using 3G. Notethat it is possible to use another communication scheme such as LTE,WiMAX, ADSL, FTTH, or so-called 4G instead of 3G. In addition, theconnection unit 311 and the public network connection unit 312 need notbe implemented by independent pieces of hardware. For example, oneantenna can have both the functions.

<Shooting Control in Normal Shooting Mode>

The shooting operation performed by the digital camera 200 according tothis embodiment in the normal shooting mode (FIG. 1A) will be describednext with reference to FIGS. 4A, 4B and 5A to 5C.

FIGS. 5A to 5C each exemplarily show the viewfinder screen displayed onthe display unit 207 of the digital camera 200 in the normal shootingmode. FIG. 5A exemplarily shows the screen to be displayed when changingsettings in the exposure control mode. FIG. 5B exemplarily shows thescreen to be displayed when changing settings in the white balancecontrol mode. FIG. 5C exemplarily shows the screen to be displayed whenchanging settings in the focus control mode.

Referring to FIG. 5A, the user can change the program AE mode (P) ofautomatically making settings in the exposure control mode to the manualmode (M) by rotating a mode dial 501 included in the operation unit 206.In the manual mode (M), the user can set a shutter speed 502 and anf-number (F) 503 displayed on the display unit 207 to desired values byoperating a four-way button 504 and a SET button 505. The control unit201 then shoots under the exposure conditions set by the user.

Referring to FIG. 5B, the user can change the white balance control modesetting from the automatic mode to the manual mode by operating thefour-way button 504 so as to select a desired mode from a function menu506. In the manual mode, the user can designate white data. The controlunit 201 shoots with the white balance designated with reference to thewhite data.

Referring to FIG. 5C, the user can change the focus control mode settingfrom the automatic mode to the MF (Manual Focus) mode by pressing themanual focus button (a left button 504 a of the four-way button 504)included in the operation unit 206. In the MF (Manual Focus) mode, theuser can designate a position to be focused by operating the operationunit 206 while looking at a focus indicator 507. The control unit 201can shoot in accordance with the focusing position designated by theuser.

As described above, in the normal shooting mode shown in FIG. 1A, whensetting the digital camera 200 in the manual mode, the user can setdetails of shooting conditions.

<Normal Shooting Operation>

The normal shooting operation performed by the digital camera 200according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.4A and 4B.

Note that the processing in FIGS. 4A and 4B is implemented by readingout a program stored in the nonvolatile memory 204 into the work memory205 and making the control unit 201 execute the program. In addition,the processing in FIGS. 4A and 4B starts when the digital camera 200 setin the still image recording mode or the like is activated.

In step S401, the control unit 201 causes the image capturing unit 202to start capturing an image for live view display.

In step S402, the control unit 201 causes the image processing unit 203to generate image data for live view display from the image datacaptured in step S401, and writes the image data in the work memory 205.The control unit 201 also causes the image processing unit 203 toperform image quality adjustment processing of adjusting white balance,color, brightness, and the like with respect to the captured image data,resize processing to a display size, and the like.

In step S403, the control unit 201 displays the live view display imagedata generated in step S402 on the display unit 207. Every time liveview display image data is generated in this manner, the image displayedon the display unit 207 is updated to implement the EVF (ElectronicViewfinder Function).

In step S404, the control unit 201 causes the image processing unit 203to detect whether the face of a person exists in the display image datagenerated in step S402 (object detection processing). In this case, theimage processing unit 203 detects edge components from the image datausing bandpass filters in the horizontal and vertical directions, andperforms pattern matching with respect to the detected edge componentsto extract eye, nose, mouth, and ear candidates, thereby detecting theface of the object. If a face is detected, the control unit 201 stores,in the work memory 205, the position coordinates and size (width/height)of the detected face region, the number of faces detected, a reliabilitycoefficient, and the like as face information. If no face is detected,the control unit 201 sets 0 as face information in the work memory 205.

In step S405, the control unit 201 refers to the face information storedin the work memory 205 to determine whether any face has been detectedin step S404. If no face has been detected, the control unit 201advances to step S409 without performing any operation. If a face hasbeen detected, the process advances to step S406.

In step S406, the control unit 201 causes the image processing unit 203to detect a position where the integral value of the difference inluminance signal Y in the face region between the display image datagenerated in step S402 and image data of the immediately preceding framebecomes minimum and extract a movement amount as a motion vector of theobject. This processing is an example of motion detection processing.

In step S407, the control unit 201 causes the image processing unit 203to perform person recognition processing. In person recognitionprocessing, the control unit 201 extracts feature information of thedetected face in the display image data generated in step S402, andcompares the information with the feature information of each personstored in the nonvolatile memory 204, thereby determining whether thedetected person matches any of registered persons. This processing is anexample of object recognition processing.

In step S408, the control unit 201 specifies a main face (main object)based on the face information detected in step S404, the motion vectorextracted in step S406, and the person recognition result in step S407.

In step S409, the control unit 201 determines whether the first shutterswitch signal SW1 is turned on upon half-pressing of the shutter switch.If the determination result indicates that the first shutter switchsignal SW1 is not turned on, the process returns to step S401. If thedetermination result indicates that the first shutter switch signal SW1is turned on, the process advances to step S410.

In step S410, the control unit 201 determines whether the exposurecontrol mode is set to the manual mode (M) (FIG. 5A). If the exposurecontrol mode is set to the manual mode (M), the process advances to stepS411. If the exposure control mode is not set to the manual mode, theprocess advances to step S412.

In step S411, the control unit 201 performs exposure control so as toset the shutter speed and f-number of the image capturing unit 202 tothe values set by the user. The process then advances to step S415.

In step S412, the control unit 201 refers to the face information storedin the work memory 205 to determine whether any face has been detectedin step S404. If the determination result indicates that a face has beendetected, the process advances to step S413. If the determination resultindicates that no face has been detected, the process advances to stepS414.

In step S413, the control unit 201 performs photometric processing forthe main face region specified in step S408, and automatically controlsthe shutter and stop of the image capturing unit 202 to set a shutterspeed and an f-number for proper exposure on the main face region.

In step S414, the control unit 201 performs photometric processing forthe entire frame and automatically controls the shutter and stop of theimage capturing unit 202 so as to set a shutter speed and an f-numberfor proper exposure.

In step S415, the control unit 201 determines whether the white balancecontrol mode is set to the manual mode (FIG. 5B). If the white balancecontrol mode is set to the manual mode, the process advances to stepS416. If the white balance control mode is set to the automatic mode,the process advances to step S417.

In step S416, the control unit 201 controls the color processingsettings in the image processing unit 203 to the values set by the user.The process then advances to step S420.

In step S417, the control unit 201 refers to the face information storedin the work memory 205 to determine whether any face has been detectedin step S404. If the determination result indicates that a face has beendetected, the process advances to step S418. If the determination resultindicates that no face has been detected, the process advances to stepS419.

In step S418, the control unit 201 automatically adjusts colorprocessing settings in the image processing unit 203 so as to set aproper skin color with respect to the main face region specified in stepS408.

In step S419, the control unit 201 automatically adjusts colorprocessing settings in the image processing unit 203 so as to set aproper color.

In step S420, the control unit 201 determines whether the focus controlmode is set to the manual mode (FIG. 5C). If the determination resultindicates that the focus control mode is set to the manual focus mode,the process advances to step S421. If the focus control mode is set tothe auto focus mode, the process advances to step S422.

In step S421, the control unit 201 performs control to focus the focuslens of the image capturing unit 202 at the distance set by the user.The process then advances to step S425.

In step S422, the control unit 201 refers to the face information storedin the work memory 205 to determine whether any face has been detectedin step S404. If the determination result indicates that a face has beendetected, the process advances to step S423. If the determination resultindicates that no face has been detected, the process advances to stepS424.

In step S423, the control unit 201 performs distance measurementprocessing for the main face region specified in step S408, andautomatically controls the focus lens of the image capturing unit 202 soas to focus on the main face region.

In step S424, the control unit 201 performs distance measurementprocessing upon dividing the entire frame into a plurality of blocks,and automatically controls the focus lens of the image capturing unit202 so as to attain proper focus.

In step S425, as in step S401, the control unit 201 causes the imagecapturing unit 202 to capture a live view display image.

In step S426, as in step S402, the control unit 201 causes the imageprocessing unit 203 to generate live view display image data on thedisplay unit 207 from the image data captured in step S425, and writesthe data in the work memory 205.

In step S427, as in step S404, the control unit 201 displays the liveview display image data generated in step S426 on the display unit 207.

In step S428, the control unit 201 determines whether the second shutterswitch signal SW2 is turned on upon full-pressing of the shutter switch.If the determination result indicates that the second shutter switchsignal SW2 is not turned on, the process advances to step S409. If thedetermination result indicates that the second shutter switch signal SW2is turned on, the process advances to step S430.

In step S429, the control unit 201 determines whether the first shutterswitch signal SW1 is turned on while the shutter switch is half-pressed.If the determination result indicates that the first shutter switchsignal SW1 is not turned on, the process returns to step S401. If thefirst shutter switch signal SW1 is turned on, the process returns tostep S425 to continue processing for the next frame.

In step S430, the control unit 201 performs shooting processing. Inshooting processing, the control unit 201 causes the image processingunit 203 to perform various types of processing for the image datacaptured for a still image by the image capturing unit 202. The controlunit 201 then compresses and codes the data by JPEG or the like, andwrites the data in the work memory 205.

In step S431, the control unit 201 causes the image processing unit 203to generate review display image data from the image data captured instep S430, writes the data in the work memory 205, and displays the dataon the display unit 207.

In step S432, the control unit 201 records the compressed image datawritten in the work memory 205 in step S429 as an image file in therecording medium 210, and terminates the shooting operation.

As described above, in a normal shooting operation, it is possible toselect between the automatic shooting mode in which shooting conditionsrelating to an exposure, white balance, and focus are determined by thecamera and the manual shooting mode in which shooting conditions are setby the user. In the manual shooting mode, the user can set detailedshooting conditions. In the automatic shooting mode, it is possible toshoot a person with a proper exposure, proper skin color, and properfocus by performing control such as AF control, AE control, and AWBcontrol based on the face information obtained by face detection. Inaddition, even when the object is moving, a main face can be specifiedby using the motion vector extracted by motion detection. This makes itpossible to shoot the person with a proper exposure, proper skin color,and proper focus. Furthermore, specifying a main face based on a personrecognition result makes it possible to shoot a person who is the mainobject with a proper exposure, proper skin color, and proper focus, evenif a person other than the main object exists in the frame and is placedat a position other than the center of the frame.

<Shooting Control in Remote Shooting Mode>

The shooting operation performed by the digital camera 200 according tothis embodiment in the remote shooting mode (FIG. 1B) will be describednext with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7A to 7C.

FIGS. 7A to 7C each exemplarily show the screen displayed on the displayunit 306 of the smartphone 300 in the remote shooting mode. FIG. 7Ashows the screen when making settings in the remote shooting mode. FIGS.7B and 7C each exemplarily show the screen when the user makes zoom,electronic flash, and self-timer settings.

Referring to FIGS. 7A to 7C, when the user activates the cameraapplication installed in the smartphone 300, the camera applicationdisplays the GUI shown in FIG. 7A on the display unit 306 so as to allowthe user to select. When the user selects a remote shooting button 701from the GUI displayed on the display unit 306 by touching the button, acaptured image is transmitted from the wirelessly connected digitalcamera 200, and the live view display image shown in FIG. 7B isdisplayed. The user can set the zoom magnification of the live viewimage by operating a zoom setting button 702 displayed below the liveview image shown in FIG. 7B.

Referring to FIG. 7B, when the user selects a setting button 703 fromthe GUI displayed on the display unit 306 by touching the button, anelectronic flash setting changing button 704 and a self-timer settingbutton 705 shown in FIG. 7C are displayed. The user can make ON/OFFsetting for the electronic flash by touch-operating the electronic flashsetting changing button 704, and can make ON/OFF setting for theself-timer by touch-operating the self-timer setting button 705.

The remote shooting mode in this embodiment assumes a use case in whichthe photographer shoots himself/herself by using the smartphone 300 as aremote controller, and hence it is possible to change the electronicflash and self-timer settings. On the other hand, in the remote shootingmode according to this embodiment, it is only possible to performautomatic shooting while all the shooting conditions relating toexposure control, white balance control, and focus control aredetermined by the camera, and it is not possible to select manualshooting.

<Remote Shooting Operation>

The remote shooting operation performed by the digital camera 200according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 6.

Note that the processing in FIG. 6 is implemented by reading out aprogram stored in the nonvolatile memory 204 into the work memory 205and making the control unit 201 execute the program. In addition, theprocessing in FIG. 6 starts when the digital camera 200 is activated ina state in which the camera application in the smartphone 300 isactivated, wireless connection to the smartphone 300 is established, andthe still image recording mode or the like is set.

In this case, wireless connection is implemented by making the controlunit 201 control the connection unit 211, and includes wireless LANconnection processing of establishing connection to a wireless networkand device connection processing of establishing a communication sessionwith a partner device. Wireless connection processing with thesmartphone 300 is implemented by, for example, the following processing.First of all, the digital camera 200 searches for a neighboring wirelessnetwork to check whether there is any wireless network to be connected.The digital camera 200 then performs wireless LAN connection processingwith a desired wireless network, and executes IP address settingprocessing. Although it is possible to search for a neighboring wirelessnetwork and participate in a desired wireless network in the abovemanner, the digital camera 200 can generate a wireless network byitself. In this case, it is also possible to establish wireless LANconnection by letting the smartphone 300 participate in the wirelessnetwork generated by the digital camera 200. Thereafter, the digitalcamera 200 searches for the smartphone 300 as a connection partner onthe connected wireless network. A device search is implemented by adevice search protocol such as UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) or mDNS(Multicast DNS). Upon finding the smartphone 300 as a connection partnerby device search processing, the digital camera 200 performs deviceconnection processing for establishing a communication session with thesmartphone 300.

Referring to FIG. 6, in step S601, the control unit 201 causes the imagecapturing unit 202 to start capturing a live view display image to betransmitted to the smartphone 300.

In step S602, the control unit 201 causes the image processing unit 203to perform various types of processing for the image data captured bythe image capturing unit 202, and then compresses and codes the data byJPEG or the like. The control unit 201 generates image data for liveview display (to be referred to as remote display hereinafter) to betransmitted to the smartphone 300, and writes the data in the workmemory 205.

In step S603, the control unit 201 determines whether it has received atransmission request for the remote display image data from thesmartphone 300. If the determination result indicates that notransmission request has been received, the process advances to stepS605. If the determination result indicates that a transmission requesthas been received, the process advances to step S604.

In step S604, the control unit 201 transmits the remote display imagedata written in the work memory 205 in step S602 to the smartphone 300.As described above, the digital camera 200 can perform live view displayon the display unit 306 of the smartphone 300 by transferring the remotedisplay image data to the smartphone 300.

In step S605, the control unit 201 causes the image processing unit 203to detect whether the face of a person exists in the display image datagenerated in step S602.

In step S606, the control unit 201 refers to the face information storedin the work memory 205 to determine whether any face has been detectedin step S605. If the determination result indicates that no face hasbeen detected, the process advances to step S608. If the determinationresult indicates that a face has been detected, the process advances tostep S607.

In step S607, the control unit 201 specifies a main face (main object)based on the face information detected in step S605. Note that in thisflowchart, motion detection or person recognition is not used to specifya main face.

In step S608, the control unit 201 determines whether it has received ashooting request from the smartphone 300. If the determination resultindicates that a still image shooting request has been received, theprocess advances to step S609. If the determination result indicatesthat no still image shooting request has been received, the processreturns to step S601 to continue processing for the next frame.

In step S609, the control unit 201 refers to the face information storedin the work memory 205 to determine whether any face has been detectedin step S605. If the determination result indicates that a face has beendetected, the process advances to step S610. If the determination resultindicates that no face has been detected, the process advances to stepS613.

In step S610, the control unit 201 performs photometric processing forthe main face region specified in step S607, and automatically controlsthe shutter and stop of the image capturing unit 202 so as to set ashutter speed and an f-number for proper exposure on the main faceregion.

In step S611, the control unit 201 automatically adjusts colorprocessing settings in the image processing unit 203 so as to set aproper skin color with respect to the main face region specified in stepS607.

In step S612, the control unit 201 performs distance measurementprocessing for the main face region specified in step S607, andautomatically controls the focus lens of the image capturing unit 202 soas to focus on the main face region. The process then advances to stepS616.

In step S613, the control unit 201 performs photometric processing forthe entire frame and automatically controls the shutter and stop of theimage capturing unit 202 so as to set a shutter speed and an f-numberfor proper exposure.

In step S614, the control unit 201 automatically adjusts colorprocessing settings of the image processing unit 203 so as to set aproper color.

In step S615, the control unit 201 performs distance measurementprocessing upon dividing the entire frame into a plurality of blocks,and automatically controls the focus lens of the image capturing unit202 so as to attain proper focus. The process then advances to stepS616.

In step S616, the control unit 201 causes the image processing unit 203to perform various types of processing for the image data captured for astill image by the image capturing unit 202, compresses and codes thedata by JPEG or the like, and writes the data in the work memory 205.

In step S617, the control unit 201 records the compressed image datawritten in the work memory 205 in step S616 as an image file in therecording medium 210.

In step S618, the control unit 201 determines whether it has received atransmission request for the shot image from the smartphone 300. If thedetermination result indicates that a transmission request has beenreceived, the process advances to step S619. If the determination resultindicates that no transmission request has been received, the processingis terminated.

In step S619, the control unit 201 transmits the compressed image datarecorded in the recording medium 210 in step S617 to the smartphone 300.The smartphone 300 records the compressed image data received from thedigital camera 200 in the recording medium 310.

As described above, in remote shooting according to this embodiment, itis only possible to perform automatic shooting in which all the shootingconditions relating to exposure control, white balance control, andfocus control are determined by the camera, and it is not possible toselect manual shooting. In addition, remote shooting assumes a use casein which the photographer shoots himself/herself by remotely controllingthe smartphone 300, and hence there is no need to consider a case inwhich an object is moving or a person other than a main object exists inthe frame and is placed at a position other than the center of theframe. This increases the possibility of successfully shooting a personwith a proper exposure, proper skin color, and proper focus byperforming control such as AF control, AE control, and AWB control basedon the face information obtained by face detection without performingany motion detection or person recognition as in a normal shootingoperation.

As described above, in remote shooting according to this embodiment, itis possible to suppress a decrease in the number of possible shotscaused by an increase in power consumption and a decrease in the displayrate of remote display images caused by an increase in computationprocessing load by not performing motion detection or person recognitionwhich has little influence on shooting.

[Second Embodiment]

The second embodiment will exemplify a case in which the user designatesa main object without motion detection or person recognition by adigital camera 200.

In this embodiment, a main object can be designated by operating asmartphone 300 on which a remote display image is displayed. This makesit possible to shoot a main object with a proper exposure, proper skincolor, and proper focus by performing control such as AF control, AEcontrol, and AWB control based on the designated main objectinformation. In addition, since face detection is executed for only adesignated main object without performing motion detection or personrecognition, it is possible to decrease power consumption andcomputation processing load.

<Shooting Control in Remote Shooting Mode>

The shooting operation performed by the digital camera 200 according tothis embodiment in the remote shooting mode (FIG. 1B) will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 8, 9A, and 9B.

FIGS. 9A and 9B each exemplarily show the screen displayed on a displayunit 306 of the smartphone 300 in the remote shooting mode. FIG. 9Ashows a user operation and the screen when designating a main object.FIG. 9B exemplarily shows the screen displayed to make it possible toidentify the main object designated by the user.

When the user touches the position which he/she wants to designate as amain object while looking at the live view image displayed on thedisplay unit 306 of the smartphone 300 as shown in FIG. 9A, a frame 901indicating the main object is displayed at the touched position on thedisplay unit 306. When a main object is designated, the information ofthe main object region is transmitted from the smartphone 300 to thedigital camera 200. The digital camera 200 can shoot the main objectwith a proper exposure, proper color, and proper focus by performingcontrol such as AF control, AE control, and AWB control based on theobject information detected from the designated main object region.

<Remote Shooting Operation>

The remote shooting operation performed by the digital camera 200according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 8.

Note that the processing in FIG. 8 is implemented by loading a programstored in a nonvolatile memory 204 into a work memory 205 and making acontrol unit 201 execute the program. In addition, the processing inFIG. 8 starts when the digital camera 200 is activated in a state inwhich the camera application in the smartphone 300 is activated,wireless connection to the smartphone 300 as a remote controller isestablished, and the still image recording mode or the like is set.

Note that steps S801 to S804, S807, and S809 to S818 in FIG. 8 are thesame as steps S601 to S604, S608, and S610 to S619 in FIG. 6.Differences from FIG. 6 will be mainly described below.

Referring to FIG. 8, in step S805, the control unit 201 determineswhether it has received the information of a main object region from thewirelessly connected smartphone 300, that is, whether a main objectregion has been designated. If the determination result indicates thatno main object region has been designated, the process advances to stepS807. If the determination result indicates that a main object regionhas been designated, the process advances to step S806.

In step S806, the control unit 201 specifies a main object based on theinformation of the main object region received from the smartphone 300,and stores the position coordinates and the size (width/height) as mainobject information in the work memory 205. Note that the control unit201 performs face detection with respect to the main object region andstores the position coordinates and size (width/height) of the detectedface region as face information in the work memory 205. If no face isdetected, the control unit 201 stores 0 as face information in the workmemory 205.

Subsequently, upon reception of a shooting request from the smartphone300 in step S807, the process advances to step S808, in which thecontrol unit 201 refers to the main object information stored in thework memory 205 to determine whether there is main object information.If the determination result indicates that there is main objectinformation, the process advances to step S809. If the determinationresult indicates that there is no main object information, the controlunit 201 executes processing in steps S812 to S818.

In step S809, the control unit 201 refers to the main object informationstored in the work memory 205 to perform photometric processing for themain object region. The control unit 201 then automatically controls theshutter and stop of the image capturing unit 202 so as to set a shutterspeed and an f-number for proper exposure with respect to the mainobject region.

In step S810, the control unit 201 refers to the main object informationstored in the work memory 205 to automatically adjust color processingsettings of the image processing unit 203 so as to set a proper colorwith respect to the main object region.

In step S811, the control unit 201 refers to the main object informationstored in the work memory 205 to perform distance measurement processingfor the main object region, and automatically controls the focus lens ofthe image capturing unit 202 so as to focus on the main object region.

Subsequently, the control unit 201 executes processing in steps S815 toS818.

As has been described above, in a remote shooting operation according tothis embodiment, motion detection or person recognition is notperformed, and face detection is performed only for the main objectdesignated by the user. By allowing the main object to be designatedfrom the smartphone 300 in this way, it is possible to shoot a mainobject with a proper exposure, proper color, and proper focus byperforming control such as AF control, AE control, and AWB control basedon designated main object information. In addition, since face detectionis performed only for the main object designated by the user without anymotion detection or person recognition, it is possible to furtherdecrease power consumption and computation processing load.

Other Embodiments

Embodiment(s) of the present invention can also be realized by acomputer of a system or apparatus that reads out and executes computerexecutable instructions (e.g., one or more programs) recorded on astorage medium (which may also be referred to more fully as a‘non-transitory computer-readable storage medium’) to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s) and/orthat includes one or more circuits (e.g., application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC)) for performing the functions of one or moreof the above-described embodiment(s), and by a method performed by thecomputer of the system or apparatus by, for example, reading out andexecuting the computer executable instructions from the storage mediumto perform the functions of one or more of the above-describedembodiment(s) and/or controlling the one or more circuits to perform thefunctions of one or more of the above-described embodiment(s). Thecomputer may comprise one or more processors (e.g., central processingunit (CPU), micro processing unit (MPU)) and may include a network ofseparate computers or separate processors to read out and execute thecomputer executable instructions. The computer executable instructionsmay be provided to the computer, for example, from a network or thestorage medium. The storage medium may include, for example, one or moreof a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM),a storage of distributed computing systems, an optical disk (such as acompact disc (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), or Blu-ray Disc (BD)™),a flash memory device, a memory card, and the like.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2013-257399, filed Dec. 12, 2013 which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image capturing apparatus comprising: acommunication unit configured to communicate with an external apparatus;an image capturing unit configured to generate image data by capturingan object; a setting unit configured to set a shooting condition; aspecifying unit configured to specify an object in image data capturedby the image capturing unit, wherein the object specified by thespecifying unit is used to set the shooting condition by the settingunit; and a shooting control unit configured to control shooting basedon the shooting condition set in accordance with an object specified bythe specifying unit, wherein processing for specifying the object by thespecifying unit is configured to use a result of object detectionprocessing of detecting a feature of an object and at least one ofresults of motion detection processing of detecting a motion of theobject and object recognition processing of determining whether theobject detected by the motion detection processing is a predeterminedobject, when shooting upon reception of an instruction by directlyoperating the image capturing apparatus, and wherein processing forspecifying the object by the specifying unit is configured to use aresult of the motion detection processing and not to use a result of theobject recognition processing, when shooting upon reception of aninstruction from the external apparatus connected via the communicationunit.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising aselection unit configured to select a normal shooting mode of shootingby making the photographer directly operate the image capturingapparatus and a remote shooting mode of shooting upon reception of aninstruction from the external apparatus connected via the communicationunit, wherein when shooting in the normal shooting mode, the specifyingunit specifies an object by using the results of the object detectionprocessing, the motion detection processing, and the object recognitionprocessing, and when shooting in the remote shooting mode, thespecifying unit specifies an object by using the result of the objectdetection processing without using the results of the motion detectionprocessing and the object recognition processing.
 3. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the external apparatus includes a displayunit configured to display image data captured by the image capturingunit and a designation unit configured to designate an object from animage displayed on the display unit, and in the image capturingapparatus, the specifying unit specifies an object based on designationby the designation unit.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, furthercomprising a selection unit configured to select a shooting mode,wherein the selection unit is configured to select automatic shooting ofautomatically setting the shooting condition and manual shootingconfigured to allow a user to manually set the shooting condition, andthe selection unit makes one of the automatic shooting and the manualshooting selectable when shooting in the normal shooting mode, and makesthe manual shooting unselectable when shooting in a remote shootingmode.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shootingcondition includes information relating to at least one of exposurecontrol, focus control, and white balance control.
 6. The apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein in the object detection processing, a faceof a person is detected.
 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a first transmission unit configured to transmit image datacaptured by the image capturing unit to the external apparatus uponreception of a transmission request from the external apparatus; arecording unit configured to record image data captured by the imagecapturing unit upon reception of a shooting instruction from theexternal apparatus; and a second transmission unit configured totransmit image data recorded in the recording unit to the externalapparatus upon reception of a transmission request from the externalapparatus.
 8. A method of controlling an image capturing apparatus whichcommunicates with an external apparatus, the method comprising steps of:connecting to the external apparatus; generating image data by capturingan object; setting a shooting condition; specifying an object in thecaptured image data, wherein the specified object is used to set theshooting condition; and controlling shooting based on the shootingcondition set in accordance with an object specified in the specifyingstep; wherein processing for specifying the object is configured to usea result of object detection processing of detecting a feature of anobject and at least one of results of motion detection processing ofdetecting a motion of the object and object recognition processing ofdetermining whether the object detected by the motion detectionprocessing is a predetermined object, when shooting upon reception of aninstruction by directly operating the image capturing apparatus, andwherein processing for specifying the object is configured to use aresult of the motion detection processing and not to use a result of theobject recognition processing, when shooting upon reception of aninstruction from the external apparatus connected via the communicationunit.
 9. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing aprogram for causing a computer to execute the control method, the methodcomprising steps of: connecting to the external apparatus; generatingimage data by capturing an object; setting a shooting condition;specifying an object in the captured image data, wherein the specifiedobject is used to set the shooting condition; and controlling shootingbased on the shooting condition set in accordance with an objectspecified in the specifying step; wherein processing for specifying theobject is configured to use a result of object detection processing ofdetecting a feature of an object and at least one of results of motiondetection processing of detecting a motion of the object and objectrecognition processing of determining whether the object detected by themotion detection processing is a predetermined object, when shootingupon reception of an instruction by directly operating the imagecapturing apparatus, and wherein processing for specifying the object isconfigured to use a result of the motion detection processing and not touse a result of the object recognition processing, when shooting uponreception of an instruction from the external apparatus connected viathe communication unit.